Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Purchases Shares of 232,500 Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 232,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,972,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned approximately 0.06% of Synchrony Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in SYF. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $265,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Synchrony Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 34,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 148,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,670,000 after buying an additional 5,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Synchrony Financial by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 131,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,033,000 after acquiring an additional 23,284 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Bart Schaller sold 930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.84, for a total value of $47,281.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,390 shares in the company, valued at $2,510,987.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Brian J. Sr. Wenzel sold 74,698 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.73, for a total transaction of $3,490,637.54. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,251 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,563,209.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Synchrony Financial Price Performance

Synchrony Financial stock opened at $48.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Synchrony Financial has a one year low of $27.30 and a one year high of $52.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.92, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $48.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.47.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.20. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 13.52%. The business had revenue of $5.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 5.79 EPS for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SYF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective on shares of Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Compass Point started coverage on Synchrony Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $56.00 target price on the stock. Baird R W raised Synchrony Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Synchrony Financial from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.41.

Synchrony Financial Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.